224 
OUR HOME BIRDS. 
“ Can’t the eagle look straight at the sun,” asked 
Malcolm, “ without winking ?” 
“So it is said,” replied his governess; “and there 
is a fable of his soaring to a great height in order 
to enjoy a gaze at the sun in all his unclouded bril- 
liancy; this arose, probably, from another ancient 
belief, which is thus stated : 4 Before its young are as 
yet fledged the eagle compels them to gaze at the rays 
of the sun, and if it observes one to wink or show a 
watery eye, it casts it from the nest as a degenerate 
offspring ; if, on the contrary, it preserves a steady 
gaze, it is saved from this hard fate and brought up.’ 
“ The eagle has been an historical bird and the 
emblem of strength and power from the earliest 
ages. We read in the Bible of the Roman eagles, 
which means that the Romans bore them on their 
standards as the national emblem ; so, you see, 
Malcolm, that we are not the first in making this 
selection. It has always been a very popular one, 
and 4 all nations, from the ancients to the present 
day, have displayed a great predilection for the 
eagle. It is used as the national emblem, as the 
appropriate ornament for the national flag, and as 
the stamp for the national coin.’ 
“ 4 The poor bird is really very badly treated/ 
continues the writer of the above: 4 it is seldom 
represented in its true form or its true colors. 
